Preview

Patronage and Clientelist Politics in Egypt

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3737 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Patronage and Clientelist Politics in Egypt
Patronage & Clientelist Politics In Egypt
Sherif Ramadan

POLI 498V

Professor Hilgers

Patronage & clientelist politics In Egypt

Research Question:

What factors sustained patronage and Clientelistic practices in Egypt during the pre-Arab spring?

On the fifteenth day of January 2011, during the celebration of the Egyptian police forces, the Egyptian citizenry broke into a protest against the increased rates of corruption in the Mubarak government. Within two weeks, the public successfully ousted Mubarak out of power. The political origin of the Arab spring was straightforward; the various regimes had failed to develop open and pluralistic political systems (The Guardian 159). There were also underlying economic reasons with the governments’ failure to provide employment opportunities to the young people. The economic policies after adopted independence did not perpetuate inclusive growth (Jason 150). The economy did not grow speedily enough to provide sufficient employment opportunities to the fast growing population. There was slow economic growth, rapid population growth and low rates of employment. Food prices and poverty levels were also extraordinarily high. Inequality was widespread with irregular distribution of income (Rodger 60).

The pre-Arab spring in Egypt was mainly characterized of an economic oppression regime that was used buy the elite to manipulate the lower status parties in exchange for voting them to power. The country was marred with poor political systems that were highly corrupt state of emergency laws, authoritarian elections and religious fundamentalism (Sharabi, 200). After the 1967 Six Day War, an emergency law that limited the freedom of the people and certain constitutional rights was issued. The law allowed the state to detain individuals and easily censor newspapers. It also gave too much authority to the police (Sehata, 24), and this made them exploitative to the public. Economic oppression of the people



Cited: Contemporary Conflict, (2011). Web. 04 Dec. 2012.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Everything that happened in the Egyptian period caused many things to exist now. But the Egyptians also in that period had trouble and problems trying to keep a good government system. I truly believe this was a caused by themselves with the rich undermining the poor. Why? Well, mostly because the poor had no rights to even have a decent job or earn enough money. The rich cared for only there people in how they dressed and on what they lived in. I find this to be very unfair and not the right thing they should’ve…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The pharaoh was the king and the divine delegate of the gods on earth. The pharaoh was at the top of the social government. Religion and government brought order to society through the construction of temples. Next to the Pharaoh were the most potent officers known as viziers, the official heads of the government. Under them were the high clerics, under them were the regal supervisors. They guaranteed that the 42 region governors followed the pharaoh's orders. At the very bottom of the government were the labourers, farmers, artisans and scribes.…

    • 91 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Instability in the Middle East is obviously nothing new, and while turmoil in nations such as Egypt, Bahrain, Iran, Libya, Algeria, and Yemen may set back those economies, a slowdown in regional growth is unlikely to spread elsewhere. The roughly two dozen countries that make up the Middle East and North Africa region—MENA, to economists—account for only about $2.5 trillion in GDP, combined. That 's one-fifth the size of the U.S. economy and barely 3 percent of world output. But because this region is abundant with natural resources without which life today is unimaginable- the Middle east unrest does concern everyone out there and especially parties related to trade.…

    • 2891 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Two years after the outbreak of what has come to be known as the Arab Spring, the bloom is off the rose. Fledgling democracies in North Africa are struggling to move forward or even maintain control, government crackdowns in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere have kept liberalization at bay, and Syria is slipping ever deeper into a vicious civil war that threatens to ignite the Middle East. Instead of widespread elation about democracy finally coming to the region, one now hears pessimism about the many obstacles in the way; fear about what will happen next and even open nostalgia for the old authoritarian order. Last June, when the Egyptian military dismissed parliament and tried to turn back the clock by gutting the civilian presidency, The Wall Street Journal's chief foreign policy columnist cracked, "Let's hope it works." (It didn't.) And Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's attempted power grab in November made such nostalgia commonplace.…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hydroplan

    • 2017 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Diamond, L. 2011. ‘Democracy After the Arab Spring: A Fourth Wave or False Start?’ Available online at: http://eplume.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/democracy-after-the-arab-spring-a-fourth-wave-or-false-start/…

    • 2017 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Prager, D. (2012). Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph.…

    • 3324 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Moreover ,Algeria economic situation had a downfall with inflation, high debts and high unemployment rates, which was attempted to be managed by the introduction of an Economic Recovery Programme. Consequently , Algeria under a “paradigm inherited from colonisation and still has not converged on the standard of living in developed countries”( Abdallah Zouache(2016))…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Just like the struggles found in the novel The Thief and the Dogs, the Egyptian revolution of 2011, marked by poverty and corruption, resulted in an imbalance in social class despite the fact that their chosen president was…

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Arab Spring, referring to the chain reaction of revolutions in the Arab world, is considered to have begun in Tunisia when a small produce seller lit himself on fire to protest the government taking away his job. Some say that this event, coupled with enough pressure from outside media sources, sparked the revolution of the younger generation in Tunisia that overthrew their prime minister, Mohamed Ghannouchi; others argue that the area was ripe for revolution thanks to the infusion of democracy in Iraq. Regardless of the initial cause, this single countries act started a snowball effect of democratic revolution that has rolled its way through Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Lybia, in a few smaller instances in other countries.…

    • 8770 Words
    • 36 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Egyption Revolution

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The revolution in Egypt is rather chaotic. Riots and public anger are taking place in the already wild country. This situation is caused by many problems that the people are facing, like overpopulation, limited water resources, and bad literacy rates. The largest problem at the moment is overpopulation, with approximately 85 people per square kilometer, (refer to figure 1). Hosni Mubarak, the former President of Egypt, believed in and supported population control, (Joe Guzzardi, Lodi News). This was somewhat surprising, considering Egypt 's population had doubled since he took office. In addition to this, there are limited renewable water resources. Egypt only gets around a mere 3 inches of rainfall annually, which also leaves a lack of fertile land. Although Egypt 's amount of water isn 't as low as Sudan 's, there are many more people living in Egypt, making it difficult to meet the entire population 's needs, (refer to figure 2). There is only about 57.3 cubic kilometers of renewable water to support Egypt 's humongous population of 85,294,388 people. Another large problem in Egypt is the low literacy rate, (refer to figure 3). Again, it isn 't as low as Sudan 's but it 's still rather low. Also, Sudan and Egypt are neighboring countries, and their low literacy rates may be connected somehow. These are just few of Egypt 's issues, and there are many more that are adding to the total stress of this revolution.…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conversely, sustaining the stability of monarchical rule there is becoming increasingly challenging. “King Abdullah II is facing an emboldened opposition that has grown more openly critical in recent years of continued royal rule, particularly as Jordan continues to suffer from high unemployment, high underemployment, and a large fiscal deficit” (Sharp, 2012, p. 1). From 1999 to 2008, Jordan’s economy grew gradually as the Jordan’s government endorsed economic reform with social and political development. Undeniably, Jordan’s economy benefits from its well-educated population, tourism, and a reputation for stability in a turbulent region. Nonetheless, political dilemma, limited access to capital, and an environment that inhibits innovation; these problems certainly obstruct Jordan’s business development. Despite these challenges, there are signs of economic recovery. While foreign direct investment and tourism are slowly recovering, businesses in tourism, health services, and information and communications technology sectors have indicated a continued capacity to grow. While economic challenges remain dominant, concern over high level corruption and continued restrictions on political freedoms have made unrest. Even so, there is no actual signal or indication of possibility that social unrest could overthrow the monarchy because Jordanians are scared of instability caused by…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First of all the government was engaged in a kleptocratic way of ruling in which they had to steal the country's money in order to rule. This mostly seen after observing the government disposal on military and minister's hospitals and schools, leaving the public ones with poor service and tools that are not cleaned and dangerous to citizens. One of the popular example is the public school, located in south of Cairo, in which five of the student got poisoned because of the unhealthy food that the school served. Furthermore, government corruption contain the injustice that we gain from the government and the security state. This corrupted country threw away a decision called state of emergency giving the police the right of taking any person without accusation to jail. There are two main examples of that injustice that are considered the two main reasons of igniting that revolution. The first one is the death of a citizen called Khalid Said by the hands of police men…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Syrian Civil War

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages

    - Arab Spring: A Research & Study Guide * الربيع العربي  Tags: 2011 Revolution, Arab Awakening, Arab Revolutions, Arab Spring, Bahrain, Egypt, Jasmine Revolution, Middle East Unrest, Olin_subject, Printemps Arabe, Syria, Tahrir, Tunisia, Yemen. الثورات العربية‎  ."Home. Cornell University, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2013.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A Grand Delusion: Democracy and Economic Reform in Egypt, is written by Eberhard Kienle, General Director of French Institute for the Near East and a Lecturer in Middle East Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, it covers a period where Egypt was in process of liberalization of its economic and political life, covering from the 80’s to the early 21st century..…

    • 2654 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Popular uprisings and regime change are two events that often occur with a temporal order of the former preceding the latter. Every year witnesses a number of popular uprisings, the reasons behind them vary, as does the response from the state. The year 2011 saw a remarkable amount of uprisings; and popular protests throughout the entire Middle East and North Africa. The Change has come to countries like Egypt and Tunisia, while in other countries, namely Libya and Syria, and Yemen, the situation has deteriorated and the civilian suffering has been immense.…

    • 1766 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays